


Red and Blue

by platonic_boner



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Based on a Tumblr Post, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:50:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6409492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/platonic_boner/pseuds/platonic_boner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a tumblr post where your soulmate sees whatever you write on yourself.</p>
<p>Merlin's soulmate keeps drawing on his face and insulting him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red and Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this](http://let-gavin-free.tumblr.com/post/117673589548/soulmate-au-where-when-you-write-something-on-your) tumblr post.

The first time the writing shows up on Merlin’s hand, he doesn’t realize what it is. He’s in class and he hadn’t noticed it there before, but Merlin doesn’t always notice things that are obvious.

_MATHS ASS_ , the back of his hand says in red sharpie, and he assumes Gwaine wrote it there to remind Merlin to do his maths assignment and simultaneously call him an ass. He washes it off immediately after class, even though it takes about five minutes of scrubbing. Then he does his maths homework and pretty much forgets about it. 

The next day, when he gets home after class, his hand says, _Thanks a lot, wanker_ , in the same red ink.

Merlin’s heart skips a beat, because oh God, he’s one of those one-in-a-thousand people whose soulmate’s words show up on their skin. 

Then he frowns, because the first thing his soulmate says to him is to call him a wanker? Rude.

Merlin scrambles for a pen. It takes a few minutes to find one with enough ink in it to write on his hand. Finally he scribbles back in thin blue letters, _Rude_.

_I got a zero on that assignment because of you_ , says Red almost immediately, on the inside of Merlin’s left arm.

Wow. Really? _Your horrible time management skills aren’t my fault_ , Merlin writes below that.

There’s a long pause. Merlin thinks maybe Red is reconsidering their stance. ( _His_ stance, Merlin decides. He’s going to assume Red is a guy, based on Red being his soulmate and all.) Red’s probably working out how to apologize.

Or maybe he’s just not going to reply?

A few more minutes pass and Merlin decides that’s the most likely outcome. His soulmate really _is_ a dick. Whatever. Merlin will have a snack and forget about it.

There’s a mirror in the hallway that Merlin passes on the way to get his snack. He walks past it, deliberating between chocolate or vanilla ice cream, freezes, and backs up to look at himself. 

“Bastard!” Merlin yelps.

His forehead says, _I’m a dick_ , in red permanent marker. 

As he watches, crudely drawn penises start to decorate his face.

What an absolute asshole.

***

This goes on for a few weeks.

After the first few days, they call a truce on the writing on faces thing, after Merlin demonstrates that he can absolutely give as good as he gets. They stick to insults, usually written on the inside of their left arms. Merlin has never been one for writing on himself before, so when his roommate Gwen sees the absolute mess of ink, of course she asks about it.

“Did you exchange addresses?” she asks, once she’s done freaking out about how exciting it is that Merlin’s been talking to his soulmate.

“Are you kidding?” Merlin asks. “I’m not telling this dick where I live. Look!” Merlin holds out his arm indignantly, indicating the bright red ink. “He called me a clotpole!”

“…It looks like you called him a clotpole first,” Gwen says, in a calming and reasonable tone that hasn’t the slightest effect.

“Yes! I did! He stole my word!” Merlin complains.

Gwen shakes her head and tells him that whoever Red is, they’re perfect for each other.

***

Merlin’s actually starting to agree with that. By this point he doesn’t mean any of his insults, and he knows Red doesn’t either. It’s mostly just a contest to see who can be the most creative. Plus, Red is willing to play hangman throughout the entirety of Merlin’s incredibly boring economics class, and you can’t hate anyone who’d do that.

***

About three weeks after the maths homework fiasco, Merlin can’t sleep. At two in the morning, he steals Gwen’s rainbow of markers and starts writing and drawing all over himself. Merlin’s not the world’s best artist, but he can draw dinosaurs and dragons and stick figure people pretty well. He finally collapses at about five, at which point his entire body is covered in drawings.

He dreams that his soul mate is seven feet tall and absolutely enormous and all of Merlin’s drawings become awkwardly stretched out on his body and he decides he never wants to meet Merlin because Merlin is so bad at art.

Merlin sleeps straight through his alarm. He then has to take an incredibly careful shower so as not to wash off either his drawings or Red’s comments on them. As a result, he ends up nearly late to maths, which is at one in the afternoon. The classroom is almost full when he gets there, so he has to sit in the back. He picks a seat to the left of a (very attractive) blond guy just as the professor starts talking.

Merlin normally pays attention in class, but he’s almost instantly distracted by the rainbow drawn on the back of the blond’s left hand. Merlin glances at his own rainbow, at the blond’s, back at his…

Okay, there’s a better way to test this. He sets his pencil down and goes rummaging through his bag for a pen, but he’s left all the pens at home in his rush to get to class on time. 

He nudges the blond guy. “Do you have a pen I can borrow?” 

“You have a pencil right there,” Merlin’s potential soulmate grumbles. Oh yeah, this is definitely him. Matching drawings and matching rudeness.

“I need a pen,” Merlin insists.

The guy rolls his eyes and then pulls out a red Sharpie. “This is all I’ve got.”

“Thanks.” Merlin takes it, uncaps it, and turns away from the blond. He then writes, _Hi :)_ underneath his own rainbow, and looks around at the blond’s hand.

_It’s there._

“Ha!” Merlin says. 

A few heads turn. Merlin looks as innocent as he can until everyone, except Red, turns away again.

Red snatches the Sharpie from him. 

_Hi, clotpole_ , he replies underneath Merlin’s message. Merlin is about to hit him, but he keeps writing. _I’m Arthur. Want to get coffee after this?_

He offers Merlin the marker. 

Merlin grins at him. _Merlin. Yes._


End file.
